The nation’s poorest families could miss out on a £150 council tax refund

It is feared that some of the country’s poorest families could lose their protection program as the life crisis in the UK worsens. Early in February, the UK government announced that around 20 million households in municipal tax area A through D – including 95 per cent of rental properties – would benefit from 150,150 municipal tax.

But one standard of living analyst fears that some of the country’s most vulnerable families will fall through the cracks and will not benefit from the government’s $3.3 billion scheme. The Resolution Foundation, an independent think-tank focused on improving living standards for low- and middle-income people, has recognized that the government’s energy discount scheme will somewhat reduce the impact of higher energy prices on low-income families. .

But the foundation warns that the subsidy does not go far enough to protect low-income families from rising energy bills, while the program’s design is “severely flawed.” As a result, the number of families experiencing “fuel stress” – spending at least ten percent of their total household budget on energy bills – will double again, from 2.5 million to 5 million families per night.

On October 1, the price range will rise again, and the number of families under fuel pressure will increase dramatically if no more subsidies are provided.

The group of experts fears that this scheme is not the most effective way to support low-income families. 11% of the poorest quintiles of families are not entitled to the deduction because they live on Band EH property, while 59% of the richest quintile are eligible for the deduction. The Resolution Foundation said poor families in London, where one in five of the poorest households live on Band EH properties and therefore are not entitled to automatic support, will likely be missing out.

He also expressed concern that the municipality’s tax system does not guarantee payment of deductions to those who pay high energy bills, as many landlords pay employer council bills without any obligation to deduct, leaving tenants with higher taxes. Invoices.

The increase in the energy price cap on Friday will double the number of fuel-stressed households to five million, said Jonathan Marshall, chief economist at Resolution Fund. With the price margin significantly increased again on October 1, 2.5 million households could face fuel pressures this fall if more support is not provided.

There are no easy ways to protect people from higher taxes in the current climate. But many poor families do not benefit from the municipal tax credits, and this system should be used to supplement, not replace, assistance through a support system that is better equipped for lower-income families.

“Another spike in energy bills this fall is accelerating the need for more immediate support as well as a clear long-term strategy to improve home insulation, increase renewable and nuclear energy production, and reform energy markets to meet home energy bills.” It is less dependent on global gas prices.”